Derry have the air of contenders

GAA: Derry 3 -14 Armagh 1-11:THE OAK Leaf men are back. Call them the sleeping giants of the North or the malcontents of Ulster but yesterday on a muggy day in Clones, the jigsaw fell into place and Derry sent out a message that all other contenders – in this province and elsewhere – will have duly noted. Eamon Coleman is grinning somewhere because there was something of the old days about this.

There was an interesting moment as this absorbing match moved into injury-time. The contest was ended and in the stands Derry folks were whooping Mark Lynch, one of the heroes of the day. But John Brennan, the manager, was losing his temper with his stop watch, which was clearly acting up. Eventually, he flung it on the ground and turned back to watch the match.

Something about the incident suggests Brennan is not going to be happy with just one good day out.

But what a polished and persuasive performance from Derry, and Armagh, feted after their impressive win against Down in the first round, must now cope with their first real setback of the summer.

The final score was slightly lopsided: until Conleth Gilligan hit Derry’s third goal in the 57th minute, this terrific Ulster semi-final was very much alive.

In fact, just seconds before that, Armagh looked intent on creating another of their patented refuse-to-lose scenarios. They had coped with the sucker punch of Eoin Bradley’s 47th-minute goal to claw themselves back into contention with a free from Steven McDonnell. Then came a point from the veteran Killeavy man, swivelling and shooting upon receiving a smart free from Aaron Kernan.

Three minutes later, Charlie Vernon finished a sweeping move to leave the score at 1-10 to 2-11.

Then came the pivotal moment: James Kielt and Kevin McGuckin both jumped to contest a long ball in the Derry defence, it broke for Tony Kernan and suddenly McDonnell had the ball and was bearing down on Derry’s goalkeeper, Danny Devlin.

This was a role McDonnell has played so many times down the years and usually, there is no mercy. A goal – which everyone in the crowd of 14,941 expected to see – would have left them trailing by a solitary point.

Instead, Devlin got fingertips to the shot, Derry broke in front of the stand side and Mark Lynch put Gilligan through with a handpass. The Ballinderry man made no mistake. Armagh’s resistance broke and they managed just one more point in the match.

And so Derry are back in their first Ulster final since 2000, a remarkably long absence for a county of their calibre. It is ironic they should make it there despite the absence of Paddy Bradley, who gave peerless performances on many summers when the team upon which he played could not get it together. But here, his younger brother Eoin was sensational, firing three wonderful points from play in addition to his goal and finishing with 1-5.

But it was more than that. Armagh tried Brendan Donaghy, then Ciarán McKeever and finally Andy Mallon in his company, slouches none. But none could live with his movement and sharpness. All three Armagh men finished with yellow cards and when Bradley received one of his own, Brennan pulled him ashore to an enthusiastic ovation from the stands.

Peter Canavan remarked during the week Brennan has the Bradley boys “eating out of his hands” by way of praising the job Brennan has done with Derry. And it was clear the manager has the Derry lads playing with a confidence and togetherness that has eluded them too often in recent years. The big test – putting two big performances together – awaits them. But this was a hugely impressive afternoon.

Brennan’s decision to revive the career of Conleth Gilligan was also richly vindicated here. The Ballinderry man has for the past decade been one of the cleverest players in the game and he was a delight to watch, perhaps over ambition with two second-half shots his only sin (Derry had eight wides in the second half, something that they will be keen to improve on in the Ulster final).

Mark Lynch was the other big thorn in the Armagh rearguard. His pace and physique has always made him a threat but he was full of inventive movement here, looking to give and go and running smart angles – particularly for his goal, worked through short passes with Seán Leo McGoldrick and Michael Bateson which froze the Armagh defence. And both of Lynch’s points were excellent.

Armagh hung around through guile and stubbornness as much as anything. Jamie Clarke and McDonnell shimmered with menace any time the ball went into them but they played second fiddle in each division and – with the exception of Michael O’Rourke’s goal – 14 seconds after the second half started – they never got their running game going.

Big Paul Hearty deputised his square with the swagger of an NYPD beat cop and his presence was needed; he got fingers to a Bateson shot on 27 minutes that presaged the threat the Derry forwards would cause.

But with Kevin McGuckin restored to the heart of the Derry defence and Charlie Kielt commanding at centre half back, Derry soaked up the best of Armagh’s efforts and won the majority of loose ball around the midfield. They always seemed to have more in reserve and now they go chasing a first Ulster title since 1998.

The Derry county board better fork out for a new stopwatch.

DERRY:1 D Devlin; 4 D McBride, 19 K McGuckin, 5 B Óg McAlary; 12 B McGoldrick (0-1), 6 C Kielt (0-1), 2 SL McGoldrick; 8 J Diver, 9 M Friel; 10 M Lynch (1-2), 19 J Kielt, 7 M Bateson; 13 E Muldoon, 14 E Bradley (1-5, 0-2 frees), C Gilligan (1-5, 0-5 frees). Subs:C Mullan for McAlary (22 mins), C O'Boyle for Muldoon (63 mins), E McGuckin for Bradley (66 mins), C McGoldrick for Lynch (70 mins). Yellow cards:McAlary (8 mins), Diver (25 mins), McGoldrick (36 mins), Mc Bride (41 mins), Bradley (65 mins).

ARMAGH:1 P Hearty; 2 A Mallon, 3 B Donagh, 4 K Dyas; 5 A Kernan (0-1, free), 6 C McKeever, 22 V Martin; 8 K Toner, 9 C Vernon (0-1); 10 T Kernan, 13 M O'Rourke (1-1), 12 M Mackin; 11 BJ Padden, 14 S McDonnell (0-6, 0-4 frees), J Clarke (0-1). Subs:J Lavery for Martin (35 mins), P Duffy (0-1) for Dyas (48 mins), D McKenna for Padden (48 mins), J Murtagh for T Kernan (58 mins). Yellow cards:Donaghy (14 mins), A Kernan (27 mins), McKeever (45 mins), Mallon (65 mins), Murtagh (71 mins).

Referee:D Coldrick (Meath).